The Venue

On Saturday morning, probably because it was winter, Chu Yu slept until nearly nine before waking...

The snow outside seemed to have piled up even higher. He looked at the gloomy sky and swirling snowflakes outside the window, hesitated for a moment, then decisively burrowed back under the covers.

It was so cold. Why get up? If he stayed asleep, he wouldn't get hungry, and then he wouldn't have to eat breakfast...

Still, no matter what, by noon Chu Yu couldn't lie in bed any longer. He got up, washed his face, brushed his teeth, and put on the suit he'd bought a few days ago.

When he started tying his tie, he'd forgotten how to do it again, so he searched for a tutorial on his phone.

Looking at himself in the mirror, he seemed much more alert in his new clothes. He even looked a little like an office worker.

It was cold, and Chu Yu didn't feel like going out to eat, so he grabbed a couple of bags of potato chips and called that lunch.

With nothing else to do, he turned on his computer and, after a long break, gave his Black Iron teammates a good thrashing.

After an afternoon of fighting, he'd successfully dropped a tier. Before long, it was five in the afternoon.

When the match ended, he took off his headset, looking exhausted.

His teammates were such a liability. Of course there were more elementary school kids around with the New Year coming up.

Just then, someone knocked on his door.

When he opened it, Zhao Qinyin was standing outside, shivering from the cold.

Her upper body was wrapped in a long, thick down coat that reached her knees, hiding the red evening dress underneath. But her lower legs were almost completely bare.

In weather like this, that was a freezing outfit, no question.

Fortunately, she was carrying her high heels in a paper bag and was wearing ordinary winter shoes.

"Why are you dressed like that?" Chu Yu hurriedly ushered her inside and sat her by the heater.

"I had no choice. I needed to put the dress on first, so this was the only way to layer it. Sister Su said the venue would have warm air conditioning the whole time, so once we get there and I take off my coat, I won't feel cold." Zhao Qinyin sounded helpless.

"Is that so?" Chu Yu understood that since Zhao Qinyin had come over, it was time to leave. As he spoke, he put on a thick down coat and pulled on a pair of heavy trousers.

He could just take them off when they got to the Annual Gala!

"Girls really have it tough!" Chu Yu sighed.

He'd once seen a video of Japanese girls wearing short skirts with bare legs in winter, though they dressed warmly up top. Now that he'd seen Zhao Qinyin, he figured she was no different.

Zhao Qinyin looked at Chu Yu, who was fully bundled up—even wearing a scarf and hat.

Then she looked at her own legs, almost completely exposed to the air.

She suddenly felt miserable. The difference between them was just too great.

After Zhao Qinyin had warmed up a little, Chu Yu picked up the invitation, and the two of them headed out.

They took a taxi to the Ming City Exhibition Center.

Rows of flower baskets stood at the entrance, and the various banners hanging there made the two of them quite curious.

There were even quite a few fans of individual cartoonists gathered around, hoping they might get an autograph.

Chu Yu spotted a lot of fans of Rurouni Kenshin: Trust and Betrayal holding up signs with all sorts of slogans.

"Teacher Shui Xin, please give us an autograph!"

"I love Yukino, and I love Xuedai Ba too..."

"Xuedai Ba is my goddess..."

"Kenshin is my husband..."

Chu Yu and Zhao Qinyin both blushed a little...

After all, this was Mo Yu's Annual Gala. Besides the cartoonists working with Mo Yu on dozens of ongoing comics of all sizes, distributors from cities and counties across Luo Province had also been invited, along with various business partners.

Everyone had come at the same time, and the crowd outside the venue was bustling. They all held invitations and queued to get in.

Chu Yu paid the fare and got out of the car. A gust of cold wind hit him, raising goosebumps all over his body.

He shifted his position to block the wind for Zhao Qinyin.

"Come on, let's hurry. We can queue to get in first."

"What about them?" Zhao Qinyin looked at the fans of Rurouni Kenshin: Trust and Betrayal at the entrance, who had clearly come to try their luck.

"We can't worry about that right now."

On an ordinary day, Chu Yu might have gone over to chat with fans of his work.

After all, they'd come all the way here in such cold weather. They had to be die-hard fans.

But it was so cold out, and Chu Yu couldn't linger outside the venue. At this temperature, Zhao Qinyin wouldn't last long dressed like that. If she caught a cold, who would be his assistant?

Now that he was used to having an assistant help him finish his work, Chu Yu definitely didn't want to go back to completing comics all by himself.

"I don't think this is right," Zhao Qinyin said, looking at those people.

"Sure, they came here on their own to try their luck, hoping to see Shui Xin and get an autograph. You're not obligated to grant their wish, but just leaving them there feels a bit..."

As Zhao Qinyin spoke, Chu Yu understood what she meant.

"I get it. You go in first, and I'll catch up." Chu Yu sighed.

With that, Chu Yu ran over to the group of fans of his comics.

"Did you bring paper and a pen?"

Chu Yu walked up to the girl holding a sign asking for an autograph from Teacher Shui Xin and asked her.

"I did!" The girl was bundled up warmly and had delicate features.

"Could I borrow them?" Chu Yu didn't bother explaining much.

"What, are you a fan of Teacher Shui Xin too?"

The girl was quite friendly. Although she didn't know what Chu Yu wanted the paper and pen for, she readily handed him her Autograph Paper and pen.

Chu Yu took them without saying much and looked around at the number of people who were clearly fans of his comics.

He squatted down and wrote his name on the sheets of Autograph Paper at lightning speed.

When the girl who'd lent him the pen and paper saw what Chu Yu was doing, she seemed to realize something. But after studying his face and age, she started having doubts again.

Hadn't people online said the cartoonist was a woman?

But he was a man! And he looked like he was only in high school!

Then again, no one had ever really confirmed that Teacher Shui Xin was a woman...

What if... he really was Shui Xin?

Her heart suddenly began to race.

After thinking for a moment, the girl took out her phone and secretly snapped a few pictures while Chu Yu wasn't paying attention.

Two minutes later, Chu Yu stood up.

He tore off the stack of Autograph Paper he'd signed.

After returning the pen and paper to the girl, he gave her one signed sheet and handed her ten Dragon Country Currency.

"I used a lot of your Autograph Paper. This is compensation."

With that, Chu Yu turned and jogged down the line, handing out one sheet to each of his fans like he was passing out flyers.

A lot of people were baffled.

"What's going on?"

"What's this?"

"Is this guy messing with us? He shoved a piece of paper into my hand without saying a word. I thought it was a love letter!"

"Why would your first thought be that another guy was sending you a love letter? I think I understand something now..."

There were only a little over thirty of them in total. A few didn't take the paper, but the rest stared at the utterly baffling Chu Yu with curiosity.

"Uh, how should I put it?" Chu Yu glanced at the group.

"Shui Xin's autograph."

Chu Yu didn't explain any further.

Putting himself in their shoes, he figured they'd still be skeptical even if he told them he was Shui Xin.

Besides, that would be too much trouble.

He'd only done this because he'd have felt bad just leaving them there. It was so cold... Anyway, he'd given them autographs. Whether they kept them or threw them away was up to them.

Without another word, Chu Yu hurried to the back of the queue, leaving a group of people behind him staring at one another.

"Is it real?"

"A man?"

Someone asked doubtfully.

But when they looked at the Autograph Paper Chu Yu had stuffed into their hands, not one of them threw it away.

Maybe that guy had been playing a prank on them, but what if...